FABULOUS FROSH – Hudson Catholic freshman Syhiem Simmons had a breakthrough performance last weekend against Belleville, rushing for 170 yards and two touchdowns while also returning an interception for a score.

Maybe Hudson Catholic has found its new standout tailback. In the Hawks’ 41-15 win over Belleville last weekend, freshman Syhiem Simmons rushed for 170 yards on 20 carries. He had two touchdowns rushing, added another touchdown on a 45-yard interception return and scored two PAT runs.

It appears as if Simmons has exploded onto the scene in a huge way and has instantly become a player to watch…

There were others who had great performances last week, but their names are a little more familiar.

D’Ondre Robinson of Marist had his second straight stellar performance, rushing for 224 yards and three touchdowns. It’s Robinson’s second straight game of more than 200 yards on the ground.

Jonathan Hilliman of state-ranked St. Peter’s Prep needed just five carries to collect 152 yards in the Marauders’ win over Memorial, but Hilliman took four of those carries in for touchdowns.

Devell Jones and Darius Wade of Lincoln both eclipsed the 100-yard mark in the Lions’ impressive win over Dover. Jones had 150 yards in 15 carries, while Wade had 138 yards on 12 carries.

Sean Roesing of Secaucus had 132 yards and teammate J.L. Castellanos had 131 yards in the Patriots’ second straight solid win this season, a 34-13 win over Ridgefield. The Patriots look like the 4-6 season they endured last year is a thing of the past.

Weehawken also had two backs go over 100 yards, as Javier Lopez had 210 yards and quarterback Oliver Molano had 132 yards and three touchdowns in the Indians’ bounce back win over Park Ridge.

Bayonne’s Xavier Matos had 280 yards and three touchdowns in the Bees’ win over Kearny.

And while Union City’s Jonathan Castellanos was grabbing all the attention with his performance against North Bergen, teammate Tamaine Boyd had 137 yards and three touchdowns. When you score 68 points like the Soaring Eagles did, there are a lot of touchdowns to go around.

Ferris’ Demsie Dawes, easily one of the best names around, had 113 yards and two touchdowns in the Bulldogs’ win over Snyder.

So there you have some of the better performances of the week in Hudson County…

There is horrifying news to report from former St. Peter’s University basketball assistant John Coffino, who recently took a job as the basketball director for a private academy in Nairobi, Kenya.

Coffino has been coaching a 12-year-old girls’ team since he arrived a few months ago and his point guard was a talented bundle of energy named Nuriana Merali.

Well, Murali, her mother and her aunt were all in the Nairobi shopping mall that was attacked by terrorists over the weekend and all three were shot dead.

Coffino is obviously deeply upset by this incident, but he vows he will stay on and coach the academy’s men’s 18-and-under team this winter. Prayers for that little girl and her family…

In the offseason, Ferris athletic director Bob Murden retired and Snyder AD Tom Mullahey moved on to become the AD at Clifton. So it left the Jersey City Board of Education without two athletic directors as the school year began.

Now has the Jersey City BOE moved to hire two new ADs? No, which means that some of the remaining ADs, like McNair Academic’s Hugh Dwyer and Dickinson’s Rich Nisbet, are being asked to fill in and do double duty while the BOE considers candidates.

Well, the school year is almost a month old now and there has been no one hired at either school. Incredibly, the BOE is telling these two hard-working administrators that they will not receive extra pay for doing the double duty.

The St. Peter’s Prep soccer team is off to a rousing start, posting an 8-0-1 record after nine games, good for the No. 11 ranking in the entire state. The only blemish has been a 1-1 tie with rival Kearny last week. We’ll have more on the Prep soccer team next week…

The local cross country season kicks into full gear this weekend at the Passaic County Coaches Invitational at Garret Mountain, the first big event for the park since Hurricane Sandy struck last October, causing severe damage. Cross country experts say that Garret Mountain has been restored as well as possible and is ready for race action this weekend. We’ll have more about the local teams at Garret Mountain next week as well…